


You don't even like me

by robituputup



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Good Severus Snape, Happy Ending, POV Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley Bashing, SSHG - Freeform, Severus Snape Lives, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:41:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27300622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robituputup/pseuds/robituputup
Summary: The party Hermione did not feel like going to was no fun for her, but then it turned absolutely horrible. However, the night was not over yet, and Severus decided she needed an escort to her quarters. How will the tough day end? COMPLETED
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Comments: 11
Kudos: 134





	You don't even like me

**Author's Note:**

> Using the fandom created by J.K.Rowling only for fun - no money for me.

The very last thing Hermione Granger was feeling like doing that day was to go to a big, loud dinner at the Weasleys. The problem was that she had promised to be there and she would always do her best to fulfil her promises. _Especially_ since it was Harry’s birthday.

And so, after a long, if exciting day of her Transfiguration apprenticeship and brewing with Severus, Hermione was forcing herself to look halfway decent and to plaster a pleasant expression on her face. It was difficult, but manageable, and so, at five minutes to departure time, she left her quarters with a sigh. She checked if the gift was in her loyal bag, and knocked at the Headmistress’s office door. Severus and Minerva were already waiting, so they went right away.

Well, Minerva did, and Hermione noticed the woman to be particularly excited, while Severus allowed himself to tell her in an almost whisper, 'You look nice, and almost happy to go there.’

She huffed a short chuckle and smiled at the man she was getting close with. ‘You look nice as well, and no one is expecting you to look thrilled to be there, you lucky bastard. Please, tell me you have a potion that you’ll need to take care of and you’ll need my assistance so that we can leave early?’ her pleading eyes made him chuckle.

‘We’ll see. Let us go now, or Minerva will suspect we are plotting behind her back.’

She giggled and Flooed to the Burrow.

Her friendship with Severus had started after she yelled at him for being angry because she had saved his life. Then, since she was not showing him pity, but pure, selfish kindness – she wanted to be friends with him after the few times they had talked at Grimmauld Place in between Order meetings, he allowed her in. Hermione had been visiting him as much as she could while he was still in the Poppy’s care, and when he was released, she had been assisting him with brewing for the infirmary. They had started talking – really talking, and were able to get past many difficult topics and become true friends.

Although, for Hermione it was becoming more than just friendship.

Hermione did her best to not cringe too much at the sudden, horrible noise, when she left the fireplace. Not to mention the welcoming her cry of “Mione!”. Gods, how much she detested that... _nickname_. Severus knew that perfectly well and smirked at her expression.

Before he left her side; however, he murmured softly, 'Good luck, Hermione.’

That gave her some fuel for a real smile.

She found Harry and after best wishes, she gave him the photo camera with words, 'This is for your own family albums. I wish you long, happy, and boring life, so that you could tell your grandchildren stories about a brave, hot-headed boy, who never listened to his boring, but smart friend.’

Harry laughed and held her tight. ‘You are the best! I love you, sis.’

'Just promise me to never take a photo of me when I am not presentable.’

He laughed again, 'I'll try to stick to it for a while, at least.’ And after a theatrical sigh from her, he was dragged to greet next guests.

Hermione went to look for something to drink, and to sit down, as her legs were killing her, but Molly herded her to help in the kitchen. She hated it. Not the cooking or helping per se, but the Hurricane Molly and the massive party preparations she was never asked to participate in. Especially since neither of the Weasley men were helping outside of moving tables and placing the party tent.

‘Are you all right?’ the deep voice asked quietly, when she finally escaped for a moment the frantic Molly and hid herself behind a thick tree.

She smiled just a bit, but for real. ‘I’m fine. Tired, but fine. I’d rather be taking a long, hot bath, or reading with you by the fire, but well... How are you doing, Severus?’

‘It’s too loud and too many gingers. I have no idea how I could have ever liked a redhead. Granted, Lily was not a Weasley, but she would fit in with them all too easily.’ He even shuddered at the last part turning her shock into a surprised laughter. His half-smile half-smirk told her that was his aim.

The two had recently talked about Lily, when furious Severus had entered the lab and almost made her blow up the cauldron. She then had made him talk and found out the reason of his ire. Rita Skitter had used what Harry had told everyone about Severus’s Great Love for Lily Potter. He had slumped on the sofa after saying that and they had Talked. After that, Hermione had suggested his next steps, and he had _liked_ it.

The day after that, Hermione had visited Kingsley and handed a very selective part of a memory, to prove the woman writing all those lies was an unregistered Animagus. Severus then agreed to a very short interview with first-agreed on questions from Luna Lovegood, where he spoke of the love that had a few stages: childhood friends to teenage crush to unrequited, based on regrets love to love for a friend. After that article was published, people started looking at him with more respect.

‘I like most of the Weasleys, but in small doses and infrequently.’

Before he could reply anything to that, they were spotted, and Hermione had to go back to helping.

The meal was going relatively smoothly, and Hermione was even able to sit throughout most of it, even if she hadn’t had much to eat. She was happy that Severus was sitting on her right, so they could have quiet-ish conversation, even though on her left were some people she had never met before. They turned out to be some friends of Arthur and Molly, mainly working for the Ministry. It wasn’t too bad, and while Hermione was extremely tired, she was still capable of smiling when she had to, or when Severus would say something to cause her to chuckle.

After the candles on the cake were blown, Harry listened to the “Happy Birthday” song, and champagne was poured, Hermione was more than ready to go back to Hogwarts, but Ron came up to her grinning like a fool.

‘Hey, Mione! There you are!’ He pulled her up from the chair, squeezing her arm to the point she winced and Severus’s fist tightened on the table. She knew the man had problem tolerating the slightest manhandling of women. Ron brought her into a too tight hug and tried to kiss her lips, but she managed to turn her head and received a wet kiss on the cheek.

‘Hello, Ron. How are you?’ she asked out of politeness, being sure he was not going to say anything of real interest to her.

‘Great! It’s a great day, right? Mum’s done a great job with everything! And there are so many people with us today – this is the life!’ he was practically shouting everything and Hermione more than suspected he had had a bit more to drink than just something with the dinner.

Knowing that if she didn’t escape him soon, he would start blabbering about Quidditch or some party she should have been at, Hermione moved back away from the boy and smiling insincerely, said, ‘It was nice catching up, Ron, but I –‘

He interrupted her by catching her hand and dragging her to the tiny platform for the musical equipment, ‘Come on!’

‘Ron, what are you doing?’ she hissed.

The boy used the _Sonorus_ charm to be heard by everyone, and Hermione noticed most of people looking at them with happy expectations on their faces.

‘Can I have your attention, everyone?’

 _Of course Ron wouldn’t even use “may” in such a situation_ , Hermione thought, but the next second she paled in a mixture of disbelief, anger, and fear, when Ron went down on one knee.

‘Mione…’ he started, and she hissed loudly interrupting his next words.

‘Ronald! What the hell are you doing?’

He was grinning goofily, ‘If you close that mouth of yours for a moment, you’ll find out, Mione.’ He took out a ring box in the shape of a hart, and when he opened it and presented its content, Hermione saw the ugliest ring she had ever seen. ‘Mione, we were through some of the worst shit together, and now, finally, when everything is over, everyone can start the life they wanted.’

While he was speaking, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and spoke firmly, ‘If this is some kind of a joke, then it’s not funny, Ronald. You are acting as if you were to ask me to marry you, which is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in quite a while.’ But seeing the shocked faces all around her, and a blank one when she looked at the boy kneeling in front of her, she understood he was serious.

‘Ronald, why, oh _why_ would you do this? And in front of so many people?’ And it came to her, ‘Ah. You wanted to pressure me into saying “yes”, didn’t you?’ She was getting angrier with each moment, ‘You thought I would never say “no” in front of all the guests here, because I wouldn’t want to be the bitch, right? Think again, or rather for the first time, Ronald. I don’t love you, _you_ don’t love me. I don’t even think you _like_ me, so frankly, everyone here, who thought it was such a brilliant idea to push me into becoming your wife is an idiot, and wishes me all the worst.’

Ronald got incredibly red on his face, stood up, and before she could say anything more, almost-shouted in anger, ‘I am “all the worst”?’

Knowing he wouldn’t listen otherwise, she yelled into his face, ‘For me! Just as much as I am the worst for you, you bloody moron!’ Hermione then lowered her voice to a normal volume, ‘Ronald, we would never be happy together, we want different things from life, and as I’ve already said – we do not love each other! You don’t know me at all, you are not interested in things I am.’

The irritation was radiating from the boy looming over her, ‘What do you mean? I do know you. We’ve been best friends for years!’

She rolled her eyes, ‘Fine. When is my birthday?’

‘Em... in September.’

‘But you don’t know exactly, when, right?’

‘You are the one to remember all the dates. I don’t see what the problem is.’

‘What is my most hated book?’

Ron’s face was screwed in incomprehension, ‘You love all the books. And I know your favourite one! It’s _Hogwarts: A History_ ,’ he said proudly, to which Hermione only shook her head.

‘No, it’s _Master and Margarita_ , but it doesn’t matter. Let’s give you something you could be interested in – food. What is my favourite food?’

‘Lamb chops,’ he was now grinning confidently.

‘No Ronald… I’ve been a vegetarian for five years, and I had to force myself to eat the tiniest portions of fish or rabbits Harry and I were catching while on the run. While you were constantly complaining you were still hungry, I was giving you both most of my part, because I was already having problems digesting the little I would make myself to eat – to survive.

‘Ron, you are never interested in what I have to say, in things that interest me, and yet, you are angry when I don’t want to listen to you blabbing about Quidditch for hours. How do you imagine our life together, hmm? You want how many children? Do I remember correctly? You want seven? Five at least, right?’ he nodded, ‘I want my own family, but I want two kids, _maybe_ more, I don’t know what future holds. But the problem is I want a husband, who would be involved in raising the kids – I want it all: a family and a job I like. I love studying, I love researching. I want to have enough time for all of that. I want my children to have enough attention from me _and_ my husband to be happy, but I will not give up my professional future entirely.’

‘So, what, you think your books are more important than raising a family? Than being a good wife?’

She laughed bitterly, ‘Would _you_ be ready to stay at home and do all those things _for the family_?’

‘Are you nuts?! Diapers and cooking and cleaning are woman’s job! And who would earn the living?’

‘That’s a moot point, as I am never going to marry you, Ronald. And by the way,’ she looked at him with anger, ‘If you thought we were in a relationship serious enough to propose, then it means, that in your books you were cheating on me, shagging though your fan club. Even today, I’ve seen you groping some girl here.’ She then turned towards Harry, ‘And Harry, thanks a lot,’ sarcasm was dripping from her mouth, ‘You not only hadn’t warned me what that idiot was planning, but you were encouraging him? Are you truly that selfish? Just because you have this vision of you and Ginny, and Ronald and me, and all the Weasleys being one big, happy family, does not give you the right to push me to do what _you two_ want. I was happy being your sister without any formal bonds, because I simply care about you, but you proved me _once again_ , that Ron is the more important of your friends, he and his whims.’

She moved to step down from the platform, but tilted her head and spoke to everyone there, ‘And if you think I’m a bitch for not wanting to be trapped in an unhappy marriage, where I would not be allowed to do what I love, and with a man who would be cheating on me left and right, then you are the cruel ones – not me. Good night.’

Hermione Apparated to the Main Gate at Hogwarts and just as she was to open it, there was a soft _pop_ of Apparition. She instantly twirled with her wand raised and a spell at the ready.

It was Severus. She lowered her wand, but not put it back into the holster. He moved closer slowly, ‘Are you alright, Hermione?’

She sighed, ‘I’m fine. Just tired and a bit overwhelmed.’

‘Let’s get you to your quarters.’ He offered her his elbow, which she happily accepted.

They were walking quietly, slowly for a while, until she spoke, ‘You know, the worst part is not that now I’ll lose Harry as my friend again, but that I came to expect it. The part that _hurt_ the most was when almost _everyone_ there was expecting me to accept him.’

‘I didn’t know about his plans, otherwise I would’ve told you. You were never talking about him, unless to make some comment on his next conquests presented in the papers. It simply never even occurred to me you two could be in a relationship.’

She smiled at him a little, ‘I know you would, Severus. In fact, you were probably the only person there who not only didn’t know, but who wasn’t anticipating it. And that is one of the biggest problems. Even Minerva seemed happy at the prospect. I cannot understand _why_.’

‘During school, the fact you were so infatuated with him – gods only know why – and for so long, made even your teachers certain he was your one true love.’

Hermione laughed then, ‘“For so long”? I had had a crush on him in the fifth year for a few months – a few months too long admittedly – but it was what? four, five months? I don’t even know.’

His brows furrowed, ‘But you seemed so jealous most of the time…’

‘Oh, I _was_ jealous, or envious rather, true, but not of his feelings but of the attention, _affection_. No one ever saw me as an attractive girl except for Victor in my fourth, but we quickly knew we would be only friends. Lavender and the other girls were always gossiping about the boys, and while there was no one in particular I was thinking about, I simply wanted to be wanted, for once. And my anger with Ronald was multiplied with his treatment of me, his constant surprise that I’m not a boy. Even though I had the few friends I could talk to and laugh a bit, I simply lacked that different kind of closeness.’ She laughed then in self-deprecation, ‘Pathetic, right? To envy something like that…’

At some point they had stopped and turned towards each other, but now, Severus was gently holding her arms and looking her in the eyes. ‘Hermione, the need for the closeness you’re talking about is the most natural thing in the world. I know that craving intimately. But the one thing that doesn’t make any sense is why anyone would be surprised at you being a woman. You are feminine, naturally beautiful. You are already regaining the womanly figure you should have, had it not been for all those months of starving. And if that idiot thinks you wouldn’t be a good wife, he is even a bigger fool than _I_ had ever thought him to be. When you were looking after me, it was then I realised what being unconditionally cared about was like. And motherhood? I had been envious of those two boys when you had been reminding them of eating vegetables, of doing homework, of wearing scarves and gloves – they had a mum in their friend like I had never had. One day, you’ll be simply a wonderful mother, who knows her worth and so will teach them the same.’

There were tears shining in her eyes, and Hermione blinked them quickly away and looked to the ground with a sad smile, ‘Thank you, Severus…’

His face was now showing concern, ‘What is it? Have I said something wrong?’

‘You are saying all those wonderful things, and yet, we are just friends, right?’ she winced, ‘Sorry… I don’t want to ruin our friendship. Please, forget that.’

‘You don’t want us to be _just friends_? Is that what you meant, Hermione? That you want something more?’

She could easily feel her cheeks going red, but she nodded, ‘I’m in love with you, but I do understand if –‘

He never allowed her to finish that sentence, as his lips met hers. The second she realised what was happening, she reciprocated and parted her lips to try and taste him with her tongue. It was then they both felt a powerful jolt of magic. Magic coming _from them_.

‘…What was that?’ she asked in an awed whisper.

Severus gulped and for the first time looked this vulnerable. He was searching for something in her eyes, when he said, ‘Hermione, it looks like we are magically bound. As in it seems that… we are soul mates… and the kiss… sealed the marital bond.’

‘I am so sorry, Severus! You must feel terrible to be unwillingly bound to another person…’ she felt like crying. She wanted him, oh how she wanted this man, but never like this – forced to be her husband.

‘Why would –‘ then he understood and chuckled confusing her further, ‘My dearest Hermione. I’ve been falling for you since you yelled at me forcing me to realise there are people who care about me and that you were one of them, and could I please finally eat my dinner?’ He was holding her face in both hands, thumbs caressing her cheeks as he kept smiling, ‘When I saw that halfwit kneeling in front of you, the only thing that stopped me from running away or cursing someone was your terrified face. Then I realised I was right thinking you were not with him, and when you started speaking, good gods, I was so thrilled. It meant that maybe, just _maybe_ I still had a chance, and here we are now – not only did we kiss, but you said you’re in love with me and we are married now. While I cannot think of being happier, tell me, Hermione – are _you_ alright with it?’

Her wide smile was reflected in his own. ‘Severus, I do love you, and while I would never want to marry so quickly, I think I’m fine with it. At least,’ she blushed profusely, ‘as long as we take some things slowly.’

He laughed happily, and taking her in his arms twirled them merrily, ‘My dear wife, I’m not in a special hurry to have children, and sex we’ll take as slowly as you need, but if you are agreeable, I want us to move in together right away. I want to hold you and for you to be the first person I see in the morning and the last one when the day ends.’

‘Yes! I want that as well.’

Since Hermione had her faithful charmed bag with all the necessities, they went straight to his chambers. They spent that night holding each other, kissing and simply feeling the other’s presence. In the early morning, they had breakfast together and went to pack her remaining things to move them into his bigger rooms. The castle even added some extra space and a door joining her office with the living room, which was suddenly much bigger with many more bookshelves, additional wardrobe in the bedroom, bigger bathtub and additional cabinets, and… a nursery with the most adorable crib and other furniture useful for a baby.

When they saw the new room, they both chuckled and Severus asked, ‘Since we’ve already settled we want to wait with filling that crib, I need to ask you: are you on the Potion, or should I brew a batch for you? I’m not trying to push you into sex, but it’s better to be prepared.’

‘I already take it – started when we were to leave for the Horcrux hunt, and never stopped.’

‘That’s good,’ he smiled and the small kiss he gave her, turned into a heated one, and another, and another, and they happily and satisfactorily consummated their marriage.

Afterwards, Severus worried that she regretted it, but her happy giggles told him what the words confirmed, ‘Love, you asked me if I were sure and I were. Now, I am even surer if it’s possible.’

There was still a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, ‘But just yesterday you said you wanted to take things slowly.’

She was smiling shyly at him now, ‘I… Considering how inexperienced I am – I was? I still am, I had thought that maybe if you gave me some time to learn your body, our first time would be more satisfying for the both of us, but it seems it wasn’t as necessary as I had thought… was it?’ the question was asked shyly, with hesitance.

He laughed happily and pulled her to himself, ‘And I worried you would find me lacking. Hermione, you were amazing. And I am not as experienced as you seem to be implying. What we talked about yesterday, the need for a touch, for closeness, I tried to find it with a young, Muggle woman I had met in a pub long, long time ago, but we were together once and it was more uncomfortable than anything else. And later? I had to start pretending I was completely disinterested in that kind of activities, taking a potion to not risk anyone being able to force me to get hard. So as you see, it was only my second time, and the only thing I regret is that it wasn’t my first as well.’

‘I love you, you know?’

‘And I love you.’

Loud banging on the door interrupted their kiss. Severus summoned bathrobes for them both (just in case) and went to see who was brave enough to interrupt them.

Hermione could hear her Master’s almost frantic concern, when she asked, ‘Severus? Have you seen Hermione? I haven’t heard from her at all since yesterday, and when I went to her rooms, her things were gone! I’m so worried, Severus. She was furious yesterday, and I’m afraid she could have done something drastic, like leave, or worse!’

It was only then Minerva seemed to notice Severus’s state of dress, because through the crack in the door to the bedroom, Hermione saw her to blush.

‘Oh. You aren’t dressed yet.’ Then she noticed the skirt Hermione had been wearing before. ‘Y-you have company??’

Hermione could only imagine his brow to rise at that, when he said in a supposedly bored and irritated tone, ‘Obviously.’

It was the first time Hermione had ever seen Minerva so flustered, ‘Anyway, let me know when you hear from Hermione, please.’ And she left without another word.

Severus warded the door and came back to the bedroom smirking, ‘Oh, I am going to hear much more from you, my wife.’

She never got to answer that as she shrieked and laughed when he pulled her to himself tickling her stomach, and then started moaning in pleasure when his lips found her lower ones.

The next morning, after a solid breakfast, they went to the Ministry to get registered as married by magic couple. The clerk, who was a woman a few years younger than Severus, was trying to flirt with him from the second they had entered the room, but irritated, he told her he was not interested in any _chat_ with her, but in registering his union with his beautiful and brilliant wife. That did the trick and earned him a strong, if short kiss (they were in public, after all). Their next stop was a jeweller’s shop, where they purchased wedding rings, both wanting a visible symbol of their union. They got titanium bands filled around with red-orange wood. They would add any enchantments and runes later, as the shop was a Muggle one.

Then, they went for lunch to a small Italian place.

Between the bites, Hermione started the topic she was finding difficult, ‘I don’t have much, but I do have my parents’ house. It’s not very big, but it’s in London, so we could get a nice price for it.’

‘Don’t you want to keep it?’

‘Not really. I have many wonderful memories, mainly from before Hogwarts, but I don’t feel there at home anymore. It’s also not exactly a place I would like to raise our children someday. The neighbours have always been nosy, the gardens are too small to have any magical plants, which I assume you’d like to grow?’

He smiled softly, ‘It would be the best option to have a small greenhouse for our own needs. And between the two of us, we could actually manage to maintain it all year round.’ She nodded and Severus continued, ‘I’ve already sold the ruin of the house in Cokeworth to some developer wanting to rebuild the whole neighbourhood. So, I believe we’ll be able to buy something meeting our needs.’

She gave him a wide smile, ‘Yes.’

After their meal, Severus insisted they joined their vaults, so later, buying a house together would be less of a problem. Worriedly, she agreed, but when they spoke with a goblin, he asked, ‘Do you want to join all the vaults?’

‘What do you mean “all”?’ Hermione asked politely, ‘I thought I had one and Severus had one as well?’ her questioning look to her newlywed husband told her Severus was equally surprised.

‘That’s what I had assumed as well, love.’

The goblin looked at them for a moment and an understanding came to him, ‘Ah… You didn’t know. Master Snape, your family – the Princes, had a clause on the effects that allows you to inherit _everything_ including the titles. Your mother was disinherited, but since your marriage was blessed by magic, you are automatically the new head of the Prince line. You are now Lord Severus Snape-Prince, and your wife is now Lady Hermione Snape-Prince.’

After the first shock passed, the two asked for the information on the state of their affairs. They almost fainted after seeing the total sum, the list of properties, and inventory of various items – including a long, long list of invaluable books.

‘Well,’ Hermione started weakly, ‘At least we won’t need to buy any new books simply for light reading for a while…’

Than caused Severus to shake off his thunderstruck state and chuckle. ‘You might be right, my love.’ He then looked again at the gobbling, ‘From what I see, Gragnak, you’ve been the wealth manager for the Princes for five decades and you did your work splendidly. I would like to give you a raise of two Galleons a month, as long as we can count on your continued help with our finances, investments, _and_ learning anything we need to know in terms of “what is going on with our money”.’

‘Very well, Lord Snape-Prince.’ They all knew Severus’s offer was much more than generous, and there would be a contract signed to ensure continued partnership.

Hermione then asked, ‘Would it be possible to either create a Muggle account with the access to our Gringotts money, or something similar, so we didn’t have to constantly remember to keep some Muggle cash on us?’

‘Ah, yes. If you are planning on many _significant_ transactions in Muggle currencies, it would be financially better to actually have an account in one of their banks, but if it’s the matter of rather casual shopping, we have means to produce a so-called “credit card”.’

Severus nodded appreciatively, ‘That would be perfect. For sure, we’ll want to sell Hermione’s Muggle house, but apart from maybe some holidays and more-or-less regular shopping, we are not talking about truly big sums on regular bases.’

The clerk nodded, ‘Shall I prepare a credit card for you, Lord Snape-Prince?’

‘On daily bases I believe we’ll both stick to simply “Snape”, and prepare one for each of us, please. Hermione is to have full access with equal rights for our finances.’

‘Very well.’

She only whispered in disbelief, ‘Severus, are you _sure_?’

‘Of course I am. You are my wife, you are one of the most sensible people I know. And besides, while I do not believe you would, even if you were to start spending money Narcissa Malfoy Style, we and any of our future children are still settled for life. Or a few lives,’ he was happily smirking at her.

That caused her to chuckle quietly. ‘Well, in that case, we probably should check out your new properties before we buy anything. Maybe there will be something we could adapt to be _our_ home?’

And the three of them took a more thorough look on the appropriate list, with Gragnak providing significant information. They decided to visit all of the places, even if only to take a brief look at what they now owned, but two picked their particular interest. One was a seaside “cottage” and the other Prince Mansion near Oxford. When they had all the information and all the documents were signed, the Snapes went back to Scotland. They took a walk on the grounds talking happily until dinnertime. Reluctantly, they entered the Great Hall finding Minerva already there.

‘Hermione!’ she exclaimed in relief and came to meet her mid-way. ‘Where have you been, my girl? I was so worried about you!’

The anger from the party started slowly bubbling in Hermione once again, and she spoke in a rather cold if calm tone, ‘I’m sorry if I caused you any distress, but I had no idea that I have to report to you about my whereabouts, because you wouldn’t assume I would simply leave without even a note to _let you know_ , right? Unless you know me _even less_.’ Then she allowed the hurt to show on her face, ‘How could you not tell me about that idiot’s plans?’

Minerva had a sorrowful expression, ‘I am so sorry, my dear… I was simply sure that if Mr Weasley wanted to propose, it meant you two finally became a couple. I simply want you to be happy, Hermione.’

She just shook her head in disappointment, ‘Never mind now. When would you have a moment for us to make some changes in the documents?’

The older witch’s brows furrowed, ‘What kind of changes? Has something happened?’

‘I’ve changed my name, so we need to update the papers.’ Not giving the answer right away was a tad too amusing for her, and for Severus as well, if she were to judge it by him trying to stop the smile from showing on his face.

‘But _why_ would you do that? And what does it sound now?’

Hermione looked lovingly at her husband, ‘My name is now Hermione Jean Snape-Prince. Magic married us when we came back from that infernal party.’

‘You worried Hermione’s things weren’t in her room, but why wouldn’t my wife live with me?’ he then looked pained causing Hermione to minutely worry, until she heard his next words, ‘Now we have to go to the ministry once again and change our names…’

She smirked whispering into his ear, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll try to make it up to you somehow.’

The predatory glint in his eye showed how much he like the idea, ‘Maybe we’ll have the meal in our quarters. What do you think, love?’

‘A _very_ good idea,’ and not looking back at Minerva, they left to get some more time alone.

The next morning, they actually joined the staff in the Great Hall and after the meal, they went with Minerva to take care of the formalities considering their new, marital status, and after that – another trip to the Ministry for Magic.

As the now formally Snape-Princes went to get their academic journals from Flourish & Blotts, Hermione was happily at her husband’s arm, basking in their closeness. As they were to enter the bookshop, a very familiar voice called, ‘Mione? Mione! Wait!’

She tried to ignore the hated nickname, but Harry ran to them the short distance, so when he was about to grab her arm to get her attention, Severus spun them in a way to place her protectively, a little behind him, ‘Mr Potter, if all those years of _Hermione_ looking after you were not enough to learn her name, then you’d better not speak to her at all.’

The boy narrowed his eyes at the man, ‘And why would that be any of your business how I call my best friend?’

Hermione was not in the mood and sighed before saying, ‘Because Severus realises just how much I hate that abhorrent shortening and he never uses it.’

The pure surprise on the boy’s face told her everything. ‘But why didn’t you say anything, Mio- _Hermione_?’ he had to correct himself.

‘I’ve told you and Ronald so many times each year I can’t count. Now, excuse us, but we are busy.’

‘Wait! Are you really angry with me that much? I truly thought it would make you and all of us happy.’

‘Harry… You have never truly listened to what I was saying, so why would you start now? Apparently, you weren’t listening even during that thrice damned party, so I’ll put it in as easy and short words as possible: Ronald and I don’t fit. We don’t love each other. We have never been in any relationship and never would be. You, Harry Potter – stay away from me and my love life.’ then she turned to Severus and smiled lovingly, ‘Shall we, love?’

‘Yes, wife, let’s go.’

*

Of course, in the evening post, the two got quite a few… _letters_. Because _of course_ , Harry would tell Ronald and the Weasleys and quite a few others, while it _wasn't_ _their bloody business!_

The two read or listened to their post, mostly out of curiosity to know who they could still speak amicably, and who not. Unsurprisingly, among the Weasley clan, there were George and Bill with Fleur, as well as Andromeda Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt, who congratulated the newlywed couple. Minerva finally passed her best wishes and apologised to Hermione, and even got them a traditional for her family big and thick quilt for “cold Scottish nights, or all-time cold dungeons”.

Hermione’s Apprenticeship had been accelerated enough from the start, so when the school started in September, she would start teaching right away the first three years with Minerva’s lesson plans and the Headmistress observing the classes for some time. She was at the same time excited and terrified of her new role, but Severus promised she could send the worst cases to detention with him. They both knew she wouldn’t abuse the offer, as any detentions meant less time together and neither wanted _that_.

The funny thing happened just three days before the school started. Exasperated Kingsley Flooed to Hogwarts to ask Minerva if she could accept the two boy-heroes to actually complete their education. Neither Hermione, nor Severus, who were having tea with the witch were surprised at the news.

‘The problem is that they both lack some basic knowledge, and what they do know is not enough to be Aurors. And while Harry maybe, _maybe_ could catch up during the training, Ron has no chances at that. And Harry...’ he was lost for words, but Hermione snorted into her cup to everyone’s surprise.

‘You simply have problems with Harry being still mentally in the war zone.’ Kingsley slowly nodded, so she went on, ‘How do you expect a teenage boy, who was raised for slaughter, to suddenly be a perfectly normal, mentally healthy citizen?’

The black man’s brows furrowed, ‘I’m not sure what you mean, Hermione. You grew up in the same conditions and yet you are fine.’

She snorted bitterly, ‘If you really think that, then you are an idiot, Kingsley. While he and I faced many similar experiences, our situations were still drastically different, since, for example, I had two loving and supportive parents. While both Harry and I were bullied at primary school, both came back home with bruises, missing or destroyed things, I was coming back to my parents. They would always do their best to make me feel better, to comfort me, to try and convince me that I was not a piece of shit kids at school were treating me as.

‘Then, when we went to Hogwarts, Dumbledore had free reign over Harry and his world view. And _not a single_ adult ever questioned that old manipulative monster. I had been doing my best to prove to Harry that he was important, he needed to be taken care of, to be kept _safe_ , but Dumbledore had always managed to undo the smallest of my achievements with no effort. That bastard had been raising him for slaughter. Harry with his saviour complex, complete lack of trust in adults – not that I blame him – he has always been ready to give up his life for others. Now, that he hadn’t died, he needs a new purpose in life, he needs to _learn to live_.’

Then she added almost casually, ‘Add to all of that the fact he’s not taking all the multiplied fame well, as he never wanted to be famous, but now, he more-or-less subconsciously is imitating Ronald, who thrives in all the attention.’ Severus squeezed her hand then in support. They had had this conversation already – Severus had tried to get Dumbledore to actually look after the boy, but he himself was bound by the late Headmaster’s magic to be almost completely obedient to Albus’s orders.

After very uncomfortable looks shared between Shacklebolt and Minerva, the former cleared his throat and asked, ‘So... Do you think coming back to school could help?’

‘What would help is rather a therapy with a good psychologist, but experiencing at least one year of school, where there is no great mystery, no plan to kill him, no attack on the school could help as well.’

Then Severus added, ‘Then again, a therapy might prove to be necessary, as Hermione’s said. Mr Potter might feel “at home” at Hogwarts, but it might not be enough. No one here knows what the situation with the boy is for real, and it might be fine, or he might attack a student, who even unintentionally surprises him. The boy needs help, and now, that I am free to try and provide it, I will. As the Deputy-Headmaster; however, I advice you, Minerva to enrol him and Ronald Weasley only if they start a therapy.’

Hermione quickly added, ‘And they actually attend it! While it might not be a too big of a problem with Harry, Ronald will not want to go to see a specialist.’

Minerva closed her eyes for a few seconds, sighed heavily and nodded, ‘Yes, I agree with Severus and Hermione, Kingsley. We’ll accept them only if both of them undergo a therapy. I also want the specialist you choose, to be available to any other students needing that kind of help.’

The new Minister nodded with seriousness, ‘We’ll get someone connected with Magical world and hire them specifically for this.’

Later, in their bed, Severus asked, ‘Are you alright with those two being here for an entire school year?’

‘Not exactly, but since I won’t be teaching them, I’m going to avoid Ronald as much as possible without neglecting my responsibilities, but knowing myself, I’ll probably give Harry yet another chance _if_ he truly apologises and tries to change the way of treating me.’

He kissed her head and murmured into her ear, ‘I’ll support whatever you decide, my love.’

‘Thank you, husband,' and they kissed good-night.

And they fell asleep holding each other knowing that no matter what the future brings – they will face it together.

**Author's Note:**

> And this is it. If there is enough of interest and inspiration hits, there might be a second part.


End file.
